Classical philosophy and Darwinian biology are far more compatible than is usually assumed. In fact, looking at either from the standpoint of the other can enrich and deepen our appreciation of both. From a Darwinian point of view, the theories of Plato and Aristotle deserve to be taken very seriously. From the classical point of view, Darwinian biology is much less reductionist than its enemies suppose.

Friday, April 22, 2016

The meaning of leadership

Some years ago, when I presented
a paper at a meeting of the Association of Politics and Life Sciences in
Lubbock, Texas, I submitted the following definition of leadership:

When one or more human beings take command of others, thus
forming a human community capable of acting for the good of the whole, that is
leadership.

I like that definition because it
ties together the various kinds of rule‑parent over child, captain over army,
government over the governed, while incorporating Aristotle’s definition of
good rule. The father rules the family
as the good king rules the city: for the common good.

I would argue that “the common
good” can be understood functionally in a way that is consistent with
evolutionary theory but also extends beyond mere biological imperatives. Aristotle states that the polis, or political
community comes to be for the sake of mere life but exists for the sake of the
good life. “Mere life” means that the political
community satisfied biological imperatives better than they could otherwise be
satisfied. “The good life” is an
indirect rather than a direct product of evolutionary processes. Human beings can be successful in a biological
sense while being utterly miserable.
Very fortunately for us, our evolutionary history makes it possible for
us to live satisfying lives, which is to say, that we can enjoy a life that is
both beautiful and good.

My definition was challenged on the
grounds that a single definition of leadership is neither possible nor
necessary. Might we not mean a variety of
things when we use the term “leadership”?
It is certain that we do give leadership awards to people merely because
we admire them, without checking in with my definition.

My instincts in these matters is
platonic. I like universal
definitions. I am, however, willing to
allow an Aristotelian critique. Aristotle
pointed out that when we use the same word on more than one occasion, there are
three possibilities. One is that the
word is a homonym. We say “vampire bat”
and “baseball bat”, the two uses of bat have only the letters and sounds in
common.

A second possibility is that we
use the same word in different senses but that the different senses branch out
from a single, complex phenomenon. If I
say that cardinals are red and that cardinals are birds and that there are
cardinals, the “to be” verb means very different things. The first states that cardinals present a
certain visual aspect when I see them.
The second, that this observed creature falls into a species class. The latter indicates that, unlike dragons,
which may be said to have color and fall into a class of creatures, cardinals
actually exist. While these uses of the
verb are distinct, they all represent distinct dimensions (or aspects if you
prefer) of a single actual bird on my lawn.

Finally, we may use a word to
indicate something that is exactly the same thing even though it appears in a
variety of contexts and colors. When bacteria
develop resistance to antibiotics and finches adapt to changes in weather by a
change in the structure of their beaks, this is natural selection. The term means exactly the same thing in both
cases, despite the enormous difference between the organisms to which it is
applied. I won’t claim here that this is
an example of a Platonic form. Not
yet.

I will say that a word is useful
in the third sense when it expresses our recognition of a fundamental
phenomenon. The genuine meaning of “heat”
is the energy in the vibrations of molecules in a substance. All other uses of the word, as for example
hot peppers or a lot of uniformed policemen, are metaphors that derive their
literary force from the original. The
genuine meaning of natural selection is the deferential reproductive success of
distinct forms in a given environment.

I think that my definition of
leadership identifies a fundamental phenomenon.
I was brought back to this topic by a recent piece on capuchin
monkeys. When these primates forage, how
do they decide which way to go? The
answer is that individuals break off in different directions. As the pathbreaker moves away from the group,
she looks behind her to see who is following.
If no one follows, she will give up and rejoin the group. If her entourage includes two or three, or
four or more… . The more of her troop
that follow, the more likely she is to persist in her chosen direction. Likewise, the more that follow, the more
likely the rest of the troop will follow suit.
That is leadership in a basically democratic community. Individuals compete for the position of
archon, and so the group can act as a unit working for the advantage of
all.

Something the same can be seen in
the waggle dance of honey bees, where returning hunters make their case for
this or that patch of flowers. It can be
seen also in the function of an animal mind.
How does the rabbit in my back yard decide what to do when I step off my
deck? Different mental schema
compete. One says “freeze”. Another says “run like hell”. As long as I am moving at a tangent and my
course is not too close, the animal is a statue. I have seen a cat walk right by a frozen rabbit. If I stop and move toward the rabbit, the “run”
schema takes command. This is
leadership.

I am pretty sure that this is how
the human mind works as well. My
consciousness is, at best, a prime minister managing various
constitutencies. My desire to lose
weight addresses the ministry while my appetite screams from the gallery about
chocolate eclairs. Meanwhile my fellow
Republicans seem about to nominate a chocolate éclair to run for president. This leads me to thinking about my paper for
the IPSA in Poland. I will be there when
the Republican convention is happening.
I may come back.